Before Stage Four: Confronting Early Psychosis

First-time psychotic episodes are frightening, confusing and distressing for the entire family. Traditionally, teens and young adults experiencing first-episode psychosis (FEP) have been pulled out of school and/or society – only to begin a lifelong journey of spotty treatment, recurring episodes, and unfulfilled hopes of a career, happy marriage and children. But new research shows a significant success rate for people who receive proper, coordinated care after a first episode. This documentary shows who’s leading the FEP treatment movement, while families share personal stories of heartbreak, success and hope. The program also explores fascinating research on young adult brains that could lead to life-changing treatment of psychosis.

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Tattoos can transform – but in a way that goes far beyond body art. Explore the lives of people who use tattoos for mental health and medical reasons. The compelling documentary introduces self-harm and suicide survivors who use ink to cover their scars, a breast cancer patient who got tattoos to make reconstruction look more realistic and a veteran hoping to hide the wounds of war.

Groundbreaking, influential, transformative. From its beginnings in 1907, the Pittsburgh Courier has been a leader among the nation’s African American newspapers – sparking historic change on issues ranging from education, housing and employment to discrimination in the military. With rare archival images and compelling interviews, this documentary explores the Courier’s impact on civil rights, social justice, culture and sports. The paper also provided historians with an invaluable chronicle of everyday life in the black community.

It started with a shipwreck in 1850. Two Irish sweethearts are headed to the New World when calamity strikes. The chaos of the shipwreck separated the couple. But many years later, WQED picks up the story in Pittsburgh where their implausible reunion is a love story for the ages. It’s just one of a collection of poignant, romantic and life-affirming stories set in Western Pennsylvania – all with an engaging musical thread.

From education to employment, health care to housing, transgender Americans fight daily for their right to exist. How is Pittsburgh responding? This documentary spotlights some of the concerned organizations working on behalf of the region’s transgender population – and also profiles transgender men and women as they define their own authentic lives while navigating an evolving city.

For many Western Pennsylvanians, a day of cookie baking is as celebratory as the holidays. Families gather in kitchens throughout the region to mix dough, whip frostings and scatter sprinkles. It’s a time to embrace ethnic traditions and remember loved ones who handed down now creased and crumbling recipes. This holiday documentary features a pizzelle-making church group, gingerbread house artists, one of the area’s busiest cookie bakeries, a woman who donates her cookies as a goodwill gesture, and Pittsburgh’s popular cookie tour.